British soul singer Beverley Knight brings an attempt to recreate The Beatles' epic 10-hour recording session of their album Please Please Me - to mark its 50th anniversary - to a close.

The euro has risen against the pound and the yen as eurozone ministers prepare to discuss the currency's recent strength.

Romania's prime minister rejects claims two of the country's abattoirs sold horsemeat purported to be beef, as UK MPs are to be updated on the scandal.

Pope Benedict XVI becomes the first pontiff to resign in nearly 600 years, saying his health is deteriorating.

National Liberation Army rebels in Colombia demand to see evidence that two elderly Germans they are holding are not intelligence agents.

Egyptian Coptic Christians fleeing tension in their home country are seeking refuge in Russia

Romania has denied it was the source of the mislabelling of horsemeat which has turned up in processed meat products in Britain and elsewhere in Europe.

Some Tesco Everyday Value Spaghetti Bolognese contains 60% horsemeat, the retailer says, as the government details plans for processed beef testing.

Highlights of Pope Benedict's travels around the world

Prime Minister David Cameron urges British Euro MPs to back the latest EU budget deal, which will see its first ever real-terms cut.

Iceland calls for a reorganisation of the international mackerel fishery as the row over Scotland's most valuable stock intensifies.

Mark Dowd on whether Benedict XVI was a natural leader

An independent Scotland would be seen as a separate state under international law, legal opinion published by UK ministers says.

An underground explosion in a coal mine in northern Russia has killed 18 miners, officials say.

How often does food fraud happen?

All processed beef products are safe to eat but there is likely to be more unwelcome news of contamination in the ongoing horsemeat scandal, the UK government says.

French ministers are to hold emergency talks with key players in the meat industry as the horsemeat scandal widens to up to 16 countries.

French village devastated by Nazi massacre in 1944

Creating Belgium's chocolate-flavoured postage stamps

Five people have died in an accident on a cruise liner in the Canary Islands after a lifeboat broke loose and fell into the sea during a routine safety drill.